Head Start programs receive federal stimulus money

Wendee Shuell said she was "jumping for joy" when the first round of federal stimulus money was announced in April for the Educational Opportunities for Children and Families, of which she is the assistant executive director.

When Shuell learned from a reporter Tuesday that Head Start and Early Head Start in Southwest Washington had received $369,832, she said she could feel tears of joy coming.

"Most of Head Start grantees have had wage freezes for three to five years," Shuell said. "We haven’t been able to make any facility improvements for five or seven years. We’re putting new roofs on, new flooring. We’re really investing in our facilities. And it’s helping our economy, by putting contractors to work."

Officially, the stimulus money is called the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. President Barack Obama pushed for Head Start and Early Head Start to receive $5 billion of the $77 billion earmarked for direct education.

Congress passed the stimulus bill to stop the downward spiral of a dwindling economy; Head Start received stimulus money in part because it hadn’t received money over the last eight years to maintain its costs. Across Washington state, Head Start sites shuttered its doors due to financial woes.

The money will allow Head Start and Early Head Start to expand its services. EOCF operates 35 sites across the area, serving about 1,000 children whose families qualify as poor by federal guidelines. That’s about $23,800 a year for a family of three.

"I don’t think anybody knows how hard it is to crank out these grants," Shuell said.

Isolde Raftery: 360-735-4546 or isolde.raftery@columbian.com.